Taking Kindness Home
by EricaX
Summary: This is an AU to the ending of the ep. Crest of Kindness. Instead of leaving Ken to walk off on his own after Wormmon's death, what would have happened if the digidtesined had him go with them. One shot. No plot. Enjoy.


Author's Note: This is just a little idea that's been taunting the inside of my head for the last week. It's weak, has no plot, it's just silly. It was driving me nuts and the only way to get rid of this idea was to write it up. Please enjoy...(And be gentle on your reviews if you dislike it, thank you) - EricaX

This story takes place after the events of "Crest of Kindness". At the very end. What would have happened it Daisuke made Ken come home with them? Would things be much different?

The hot sun bolied down on the digidestined, hot sand stinging their eyes as they watched their sworn enemy cry helplessly at the loss of his partner.

Wormmon's death certainly brought Ken Ichijouji back to reality. It made the indigo haired boy realize that Digimon were not just data, but living creatures. It made Ken realize all the horrible and unforgivable deeds he'd done as the Digimon Kaiser. Relentlessly forcing them to work long laboress hours without rest, and whipping them around when they didn't do well enough to his expectations, or simply for the pleasure of it. Not to mention his pure evil Control Spires, forcing the original digidestined's digimon unable to divivolve.

But now, things were different. Daisuke watched along with his friends as Ken sobbed into the hot sand, mumbling about how he had been trying to get away from the pain. It was a sad sight to see someone so strong be laying there crying, and the digidestined could see that the ex-Kaiser has seen the errors of his ways.

"Wormmon no..." whispered Ken once more. The Chosen Children bowed their heads in Wormmon's honor. "Why do I keep losing people?" Ken screamed into the air, not recieving an answer. This startled the children more than anything. Ken went silent, still sobbing.

Daisuke, leader of the new team then got an idea. "Ken, there are still people who care about you." An image of Ken's parents being interviewed about Ken being missing popped into his mind. He could see his mother crying into a tissue as his father spoke to the camera.

That was when Ken stood up. "I gotta go..." he mumbled, awkwardly standing.

Daisuke jumped at his chance. Before Ken could start walking away, he grabbed Ken's arm tightly, making the other boy stop and look at him with tear stained eyes. "Don't run away from your problems. We want to help you" the red-head stated firmly.

Ken tried moving his arm and getting out of Daisuke's grip, but the emotional trauma had made Ken weak and tired.

Miyako stepped foward, adjusting her glasses. "Daisuke's right Ken. We can't just let you go when you're like this. We want to help."

Hikari nodded, her hands held together as though she were praying. "We wish to be your friends Ken and help you fix your mistakes. We wouldn't be known as the Digidestined if we weren't going to help you."

Takeru and Iori stood in the back, watching the scene unfold before them. Iori, with his always scowling eyes, looked up at the blonde. "Are you sure this is the right idea? I mean, he could just be playing another trick on us."

Takeru shook his head almost angrily. "Please, Iori! Just look at him. Not even the best of actors could be that convincing! No, I think we need to help him. Hikari is right, we say we're so kind and caring, yet who would we be if we didn't help Ken like everyone else?" Takeru then walked up next to Hikari after his speech. Iori however stayed behind, still unsure of what to think.

"W-What are you saying?" rasped Ken, looking at them. "I don't understand."

Miyako smiled. "What we're trying to say is Ken... Come with us. Don't walk off alone by yourself when your in this condition. We'll take you home."

Ken shook his head at the very thought. "No...No. I don't deserve it." He started struggling against Daisuke once more, yet without success. "Please, I just want to go home."

"We know Ken, and that's where we'll take you. You'll just be coming with us" explained Daisuke. Ken went silent in defeat, going limp.

"Great! Now let's go find a television and get out of here! Yamato, Taichi, and Koushiro are all waiting for us to get back. Come on!" cried Miyako in delight. The others followed her silently, all finally get a chance to relax now that the battle was over. All of them where in their own thoughts.

Iori couldn't understand why they were bringing their enemy home with them. Takeru was in deep thought about the powers of darkness and how they nearly took over Ken completely. Hikari was afraid that the main battle was not over with the darkness. Miyako was worried about how Ken would behave now that he wasn't the Kaiser. And lastly, Daisuke was worried wether or not Ken would be their friend.

No one knew what was going through Ken's mind. Yet they all had their own ideas. It was pretty obvious that Ken was thinking of all the terrible stuff he's done and wishing he didn't lose Wormmon. Or at least, that's what they all hoped he was thinking. It was hard to say.

The sun shone brightly on the crisp scenery of trees and forest. A slight breeze of peace filled the air as three boys sat at a red picnic table, all staring at a computer screen in anticipation.

"Hey! Yamato!" a shrill voice pierced through the calm silence, making the three boys at the table sweatdrop in annoyance. The girl giggled happily."I MADE it!"

Taichi, the older brother of Hikari, and Yamato, the older brother of Takeru, both looked back, wide-eyed, to see Daisuke's sister, Jun, waving at them wildly. Yamato cringed "Oh no... She followed us. She's just like a boomerang that keeps coming back."

Jun put a finger on her chin. "It's funny...but when you left with your tires screeching, you didn't realize you left me standing there..." explained Jun as she stood in front of them, holding onto the book bag on her back tightly.

"Oh" began Yamato nervously. "Ah...sorry 'bout that...I must've forgot..."

Jun started looking around the camp and asked, "Where are Daisuke and the others?"

This made Taichi, Yamato, and Koushiro freeze. Yamato was the first to speak once again.

"Uh...I think Taichi knows...Hey Taichi, do you know where the others went...?

Taichi, who currently had his back to Yamato and Jun, made a face. Taichi scrambled for a reply, not sure what to say. "L-Let me think about that for a sec... uh...Koushiro! Weren't YOU the last one to see them?"

Koushiro, who was fiddling with the computer, keeping the digiport hidden from Jun on the other side of the table, nearly choked on his breath at the mention. He inwardly promised himself to kill Taichi when he got home. "Uh...Uh...O- Of course! I- I'll go find them right now!"

Jun just watched Koushiro leave with curious eyes. "Hmmm...?"

With that, the red-head ran off towards the woods beside the cabin they were staying in, taking the computer with him. He groaned.

"Oh boy now what do I do...?" Koushiro looked at his computer. His eyes widened as he gasped, staring at his computer screen. "The digiport is opening!"

Before Koushiro could react he was at the bottom of a huge human body pile. Everyone groaned. "Everyone get off of me!" cried Koushiro.

Slowly everyone got off, and the last person to get off was still sitting on Koushiro's legs. Waiting in anger, Koushiro sat up from his laying down position to see a gray uniform. This confused him, at least until he heard the boy's voice.

"Sorry about that..." the boy mumbled. Koushiro watched in silent shock as Ken climbed off Koushiro's legs. It wasn't every day the Digimon Kaiser was crawling off your legs.

Hikari helped Koushiro to his feet when she saw him still on the ground, yet his eyes couldn't leave Ken. He turned to her, giving her a questioning look.

Hikari frowned, looking towards the ground. She got close to his ear and muttered, "Wormmon died. We couldn't leave him. He's a wreck."

Koushiro's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh..." He nodded.

As everyone walked, the were all talking about how hungry they were, especially Daisuke and Miyako. Takeru, Hikari, and Iori were in the own little conversation, while Koushiro, at the front, and Ken, in the back, remained silent.

Ken had his face hidden behind the long strands of his hair and he walked slower than the rest. He looked as though he was about to cry. Daisuke turned back, sensing something wrong with their reluctant friend. He stopped walking, waiting for the indigo to catch up with him. Once beside him, Daisuke started asking the questions.

"Ken, are you okay? Come on Ken, we only wish to help you..." ushered Daisuke, trying to look at Ken's face, yet Ken's hair was in the way.

"Just leave me alone Daisuke, okay?" begged Ken. Daisuke was now able to see tears in the other boy's eyes.

"No Ken. I'm here to help!" insisted the red-head. Ken tried ignoring Daisuke, but he wasn't giving up. Once they all arrived where Taichi and Yamato were, Daisuke had a tough time holding back his surprise when he saw his older sister at the table.

"Hey Jun, who invited you out here!" demanded Daisuke at the sight of her.

Jun giggled happily. "Yamato did!" Her arm was wrapped around Yamato's as she stood next to him. Yamato sighed, knowing it was useless.

Meanwhile, Ken wlaked up next to Daisuke, having wiped away a few of his tears."Who's this Daisuke?"

No one hardly heard Ken's whispered question. Daisuke looked back at Ken. "This is my older sister Jun. The most annoying girl on the planet!"

Ken said nothing, simply taking everything in. Taichi and Yamato sighed with relief when they saw the digidestined walking their way, yet Taichi froze when he saw someone else besides the digidestined.

There, hiding behind Daisuke, walked a boy, who was hiding behind long locks of indigo hair.

Taichi stood, wanting to know who it was. "Daisuke!" called Taichi. Everyone looked at him. "Who's that behind you?"

It took everyone a moment to realize who Taichi was refferring to, until Takeru smiled, looking back at Ken. "Oh, yeah. Guys, Ken is here. He came with us..."

Jun, who was now too busy fawning over Yamato, was the only one of the older kids who wasn't surprised. She seemed completely oblivious to what was going on. Even Koushiro still found it hard to believe.

Taichi glared at the ex-kaiser, memories of what he'd done to Agumon only weeks ago flooding his mind.

Flashback

"Agumon! No! Come back!" cried Taichi at the top of his lungs. The older teen tried cathcing up with his digimon, but was unable to.

Kaiser, who had jumped down from far above on his Airdramon, smiled wickedly as he watched his prey come closer and closer to him. The teen tryant raised his hand, revealing what they would soon know as, a Dark Spiral.

"Ah, you've come back to me Agumon Here's a little friendship bracelet for you!"

Agumon, who had blindly rushed forward, wanting to fight, stopped just as Kaiser threw the Dark Spiral at him. The spiral wrapped itself around Agumon's wrist painfully tight, making the digimon cringe in pain.

"Uh...What's going on?" moaned the little dinosaur creature.

Taichi was finally able to rush over to him, but when the teen got close, he was startled to see Agumon's eyes glow red as the Dark Spiral took over him.

"Wha-?" gasped Taichi as Agumon trying attacking him. Taichi could hear Kaiser laughing in the distance as Daisuke came out of nowhere, moving him from range of Agumon's "Pepper Breath" attack.

End Flashback

Anger boiled beneath Taichi's skin as he remembered that day...When he had to fight to get Agumon back to their side.

Taichi focused in on the ex-kaiser and scowled, his fists clenching. Growling under his breath, Taichi ran with great speed, surprising everyone, and jumping on top of Ken, making them both fall to the ground.

Ken gasped in shock as the older teen grabbed hold of his collar, raising his fist high above, and slamming right into his face. Ken shouted as the fist hit his face, everyone looking on in utter shock themselves.

Taichi, who was now sitting on top of Ken, raised his hand into the air once more as the boy below him kicked his feet in protest.

"Get off me!" cried Ken through his tears.

"Not a chance Kaiser! You'll pay for what you did to Agumon!" declared Taichi, his fist still in the air. Just as he was above to punch Ken again, a hand stopped him. He looked back, expecting Daisuke or Takeru, only to see that it was his very own little sister, Hikari.

Taichi's eyes widened, not belieiving what he was seeing. Hikari glared at him with her deep reddish-brown eyes. "You should be ashamed of yourself Taichi!" his sister roared. "Picking fights! I thought you knew better! Can't you see Ken's crying! He's not the person we know him as, he's changed. He never realized that digimon were living creatures instead of data."

Hikari pulled Taichi off Ken, who scrambled to get up, hiding his face behind his hair. Hikari continued, not yet satisfied. "Ken just lost his partner, Wormmon. Give the poor kid some space, alright?"

Taichi said nothing. All eyes, which had been wathcing the whole scene, quickly averted themseleves to other places, such as trees and bushes.

The group remianed silent for the rest of the walk to the van.

As Daisuke started walking again, he felt someone tug on his sleeve. He looked back to see that it was Ken, who got close to his ear.

"Thank you Daisuke. For your kindness..." he whispered, the hid behind his hair again. Daisuke smiled.

"Think nothing of it Ken..." replied Daisuke, patting Ken on the back.

"Hey guy's, wait for me!" cried a running Jun, at a loss for breath. Everyone had packed up and was now in the van. All except Daisuke, Yamato, and Jun. Daisuke scowled at her, getting into the seat next to Ken and Hikari.

Jun looked at the van desperately, looking for a seat."There's no seats left!" she cried after a moment, looking distressed. Yamato, who still wasn't inside the van, came around from the other side, seeing that he didn't have a seat either.

Daisuke looked at Jun from his spot in the van and said, "That's what you get Jun for coming out here un-invited."

"That's not fair!" whined his older sister. "I don't want to have to the bus all by myself!"

"Sorry Jun" mumbled Yamato, looking for his own seat. He frowned when he saw there wasn't one for him.

Takeru and Yamato's father looked out the front window of the van, sitting in the driver's seat. He looked at Jun, feeling sympathy for the girl. "Boys, that's not nice." He looked around, his eyes landing on Yamato. "Yamato, why don't you ride the bus with her?"

Yamato gulped, making a face. "B-but, I have to ride with you guys! See! There's spot there beside Ken!"

Everyone looked at Ken, who had his knees up to his chest, his face hidden behind his hair. Hikari looked at his hidden face to see that his eyes were lowered and glazed over, in deep thought.

"No there isn't Yamato" teased Takeru, knowing his brother would have to take the bus with Jun.

Jun smiled widely, wrapping an arm around Yamato. "Yamato can just come with me then. Thank you sir."

"B-but I don't have any money!" cried the blonde desperately. His father then reached into his pocket, giving Yamato some money.

"This is more than enough" he muttered. Yamato sweat-dropped as his father started the van.

"I'll trade for someone's seat!" he begged, showing everyone the money. Everyone besides Ken laughed.

"Sorry Yamato!" said Iori, Miyako smiling beside in the back.

Daisuke then shut the door to the van, and the father started taking the van home.

"See you in four hours!" cried Hikari as they left. Yamato could hear everyone laughing. He then groaned. "Why me?" Jun just stood there giggling, happy as could be.

The ride home was silent save for Kouhsiro's clicking of his typing on the computer and the radio playing on low. Taichi looked back at the others, sitting near the front. He smiled back at the kids.

"Well Koushiro, it looks like these guys can finally have the title of the new digidestined.." he commented.

Koushiro stopped typing and looked back as well. "Yeah. It must have been some battle..."

Taichi continued to muse. "They've been given the torch..." he whispered, looking at the sleeping kids. "And they didn't get burnt once..."

The radio news started and everyone who was awake listened.

"The genius boy, Ken Ichijouji is still found missing.." said the male reporter on the radio news. "All leads to where the boy is lead to dead ends. If you have any information as to where he is...please call-"  
Takeru's father turned off the radio and sighed. "That boy's parents must be out of their minds in worry. I know I would be..." He looked into the rear-view mirror. "None of you kids would happen to know where he is, would you?"

Neither Koushiro or Taichi answered as they both looked at Ken. The boy was now asleep, as everyone else was.

"He lost Wormmon..." murmurred Koushiro. Taichi nodded.

"So I heard...I certianly do hope he learned his lesson..." Taichi whispered back. Koushiro nodded.

"I'm sure he did Taichi. I'm sure he did."

"I did..." came a voice. Koushiro and Taichi looked back at Ken, to see his eyes looking at them, filled with sadness and grief. " I did learn my lesson. And I'm sorry...Sorry for all the trouble and pain I cuased. I'll do anything to help make up for it..."

Taichi looked into Ken's eyes, seeing the determination in them. He gave a weak smile and nodded. Ken then closed his eyes agian, and tried to go back to sleep.

The room was silent save for the tears of a happy mother. She cried into her husband's chest as she rambled on and on.

"Our little boy is back...First we lost Sam...then we lost Ken. I'm so glad we got him back...Those children who found him...I am so grateful to them for bringing him back to us..."

Meanwhile, Ken lay on the bed in his room, falling into a deep slumber...

The End


End file.
